GOLF: TIPS FROM A PRO: First Things First  Set up like a pro to start the season

Every year, touring professionals start their season by making sure their fundamentals are in good shape. Grip, posture, and alignment are always the first things on the checklist and should become yours as well. A bad address position minimizes your chances of hitting good shots on a consistent basis.

I often tell my students to practice their grip while watching television at home with a ruler. Make sure the heel pad of your left hand (for right handed golfers) sits on top of the ruler and eventually the club the same way. This is a powerful position compared to having the grip run through your palm, and is often an easy fix to help minimize your slice. A bad grip leads to a lack of power, consistency, and a mix of bad golf shots. Your grip is your only attachment to the club so it needs to be a good one.

Let’s say I told you that if you could endure a hit from Ray Lewis (with a running start) without falling you would win a million dollars. What position would you get into while waiting for Ray to run into you? Good chance you would get into an athletic position, tilted forward from the hips, connected to the ground, with a little bit of knee flex. This grounded, athletic position wouldn’t stop Ray from running over most of us, but it would give us a much better chance of not flying into the grandstands. Practice your posture in a mirror with this feeling for 10 minutes a day to get the most efficiency out of your swing.

Having trouble making it to the range after work? Practice your alignment in the backyard. Take a tee and put it a foot in front of where you’re making practice swings. Practice setting your clubface up square to that. Set your feet in a line that’s parallel left of where your club face is aiming. Make sure your hips and shoulders match your feet. Poor alignment forces you to compensate to get the ball to go toward your target and often ingrains bad habit. Be meticulous about your lines at address and you will have a much easier time hitting it where you’re looking.

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A good address position is the most important and often most overlooked subject when it comes to golf. When Tiger Woods is struggling, the first thing he checks is his set up. If a guy who’s won 14 Major Championships is still checking his fundamentals, why should you be any different? Without a good set up, working on anything else is simply a waste of time. Take a small amount of time out of every day to work on the basics if you’re serious about playing better golf this season.